For 13 years, Ruberti has operated his business on River Street, and since the beginning, prostitutes have worked in the area, he said. There was one time a customer came down to look at cars on the lot on a weekend, only to be solicited by a prostitute, Ruberti said.

"It's a sad thing. I know they're drug addicts, and a lot of them probably come from terrible backgrounds. I think the city could do a better job policing it," Ruberti said.

The problem recently got the attention of Ward 3 City Councilor Joel Kaddy. He spoke with Police Chief Robert DeMoura about the problem last week, after observing five prostitutes working between the Cleghorn Rotary and KC's Pub within a 30-minute period at about 9 o'clock one morning.

"It always seems to spike this time of year," Kaddy said. "I just don't like the image."

Kaddy, a former police officer, said it would be unfair to say police officers aren't doing enough to get prostitutes off the streets in Fitchburg. He pointed out that it's difficult to arrest someone for prostitution because of the burden of proof, and there's not enough manpower to set up special stings these days.

Advertisement

"They don't have time to be sitting and watching these girls for a long period of time or harassing them to leave," Kaddy said.

The last time the Fitchburg Police Department did a sting to arrest prostitutes was about a year-and-a-half ago, according to DeMoura. Other crime issues have landed the problem on the back burner, but there could be a crackdown soon he said.

"It seems like it's one of those crimes that we deal with all the time that the punishment isn't always sufficient to change their behavior," DeMoura said.

Prostitutes may be hit with fines by a judge and let go, he said.

Like Kaddy, DeMoura said it can be difficult to arrest prostitutes in the first place, and it's actually easier to arrest them for the lesser charge of common streetwalking.

"Otherwise, a victim has to tell the prostitute tried to solicit money from them, and that very seldom happens," DeMoura said.

Mayor Lisa Wong said the Police Department has taken a closer look at the problem in recent weeks.

"Police have been investigating several issues surrounding prostitution over the last few weeks in particular, and have stepped up and will continue to step up efforts to deal with this issue," Wong said.

Those trying to make an honest living on River Street say they want police to get the problem under control by any means necessary.

Peter Cote opened Beemer's Pub last Thanksgiving, and has repeatedly chased away prostitutes from his parking lot during business hours .

"I've done everything in my power to get them out of here," Cote said.

That includes calling the Police Department five or six times over the last month and a half.

"They do the best they can, I know they do," Cote said, but he added by the time police show up, the prostitutes have usually left the area.

Young Jin is also a new business owner in the area. He opened Independent Cleaners in November on Wallace Road (which intersects with River Street) and quickly noticed the problem.

"I don't think it's directly affected us, but if people know there are hookers hanging around here, I don't think it's good for the image of River Street," Jin said.

The prostitutes can be brazen, according to Cathy Leger, office manager at Dufour Motor Sales by the Cleghorn Rotary. They've been known to approach cars waiting in line to get new inspection stickers.

"They walk right up to the cars, if there's a single man inside. I've seen that happen a couple of times," Leger said.

Prostitutes are just "part of the landscape" on River Street, according to Kevin Reed, manager of Centre Pizza.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.

OUARZAZATE, Morocco (AP) — The people are restive, the priesthood is scheming and a fanatic band of insurgents known as the zealots are plotting assassinations — and now to make matters worse, the body of a condemned cult-leader known as Jesus has disappeared from the tomb, apparently following some ancient prophecy. Full Story